Les Brown and his Band of Renown - "Dance to South Pacific" (1958) - Capitol Records
Hello Friends,
We're enjoying another Sunday brunch here on Vinyl in the Valley. The mimosas are flowing and Tiki T. is poaching up some eggs benny. I'm no soothsayer, but I can see into the future of this Sunday and I see a lot NOT getting done today!
The chores can wait. In the meantime, we've got this great Les Brown record on the turntable. Twelve mostly swinging tracks lifted from the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein musical that captivated the nation throughout the fifties, South Pacific.
"Dites-Moi" and "Some Enchanted Evening" are fun, bouncy numbers punctuated by a solid brass section. Frank Comstock's arrangement of the brunch-themed "Bloody Mary" is pretty solid as well. "This Nearly Was Mine" is Brown and his orchestra at their somber creamiest. "There Is Nothin' Like A Dame" sounds like something that The Count Basie orchestra might have recorded. The album's highlight is probably Billy May's cha-cha arrangement of the tiki anthem, "Bali Ha'i".
All today needs to be perfect is a hammock strapped between two palm trees and a sexy native bringing me rum drinks in hollowed-out pineapples!
Oh and if someone can do the dishes!
RATING: 3.5 gonna wash that man right outta my hairs out of 5
No comments:
Post a Comment